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A Little History of Psychology
A rich and engaging guide to psychology, the science devoted to understanding human nature What really drives our decisions? Where do language and memory come from? Why do our minds sometimes seem to work against us? Psychologists have long attempted to answer these questions, seeking to understand human behaviour, feelings, and thoughts. But how to explore something so elusive? In this fascinating history, leading expert Nicky Hayes tells the story of psychology across the centuries and around the world. Hayes introduces key thinkers, including Carl Jung, Anna Freud, Frantz Fanon, and Daniel Kahneman. We see how they tried to expand our understanding, from Pavlov and his dogs to Milgram and his famous electric shock experiments to the CIA’s secret mind-control projects. Hayes explores key concepts like child development, the inferiority complex, and PTSD and shows how psychological research has been used for both good and ill. This Little History shines a light on the ever-advancing study of psychology, how the field has evolved over time—and how much more we need to learn.
288 pages, Paperback
Published May 13, 2025
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814 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
September 16, 2025
Aptly titled A Little History, Hayes highlights psychology’s greatest hits in bite-sized, accessible chapters. It’s not a full picture, but it’s a great place to start or brush up without wading through heavy jargon.
June 5, 2024
Pretty much what it says on the cover. If you're after an introduction or bite sized pieces discussing the history and different branches of psychology, then this is the book for you. I already was familiar with most things in this book so I didn't really learn much that was new apart from a few new updates of the last 10 years in certain sectors, but that's a me issue, not the books issue.
June 28, 2025
Psychologia stanowi sedno człowieczeństwa - pisze we wstępie Nicky Hayes i trudno się z nią nie zgodzić. Zastanawiamy się nad tym, jakimi meandrami poruszają się myśli innych i - oczywiście - przede wszystkim nasze. Nie ma jednej uniwersalnej psychologii, bo ludzie to istoty bardzo złożone. Sama psychologia wyrosła z filozofii i szybko stała się odrębną nauką, mocno rozgałęzioną zresztą.
Nicky Hayes, uznana brytyjska psycholożka, prowadzi nas od starożytności, pokazując jak psychologia ewoluowała. John Locke i jego tabula rasa, Freud i psychoanaliza, Anna Freud i jej praca z dziećmi, byłymi więźniami obozu koncentracyjnego, narodziny eugeniki czy behawioryzmu. Oprócz tego - testy osobowości, szkoła Gestalt, cały wachlarz pomysłów na wychowanie dzieci czy szczególnie ciekawe związki psychologii z wojną (rozdziały "Zrozumieć nazizm" czy "Konformizm i uległość").
Taki przegląd rozwoju psychologii przez wieki jest o tyle ciekawy, że pokazuje i zmiany, ale i wyciąganie wniosków. Pewne teorie przetrwały, inne zostały odrzucone, jeszcze inne cały czas są dopracowywane.
Człowiek się zmienia, bo czasy się zmieniają. Nauka musi za tym nadążyć.
Czytałam tę książkę długo, bo smakowałam poszczególne rozdziały. To ciekawa propozycja dla tych, którzy trochę się psychologią interesują, bo porządkuje wiedzę, robiąc to w sposób przystępny i naprawdę interesujący.
Nicky Hayes, uznana brytyjska psycholożka, prowadzi nas od starożytności, pokazując jak psychologia ewoluowała. John Locke i jego tabula rasa, Freud i psychoanaliza, Anna Freud i jej praca z dziećmi, byłymi więźniami obozu koncentracyjnego, narodziny eugeniki czy behawioryzmu. Oprócz tego - testy osobowości, szkoła Gestalt, cały wachlarz pomysłów na wychowanie dzieci czy szczególnie ciekawe związki psychologii z wojną (rozdziały "Zrozumieć nazizm" czy "Konformizm i uległość").
Taki przegląd rozwoju psychologii przez wieki jest o tyle ciekawy, że pokazuje i zmiany, ale i wyciąganie wniosków. Pewne teorie przetrwały, inne zostały odrzucone, jeszcze inne cały czas są dopracowywane.
Człowiek się zmienia, bo czasy się zmieniają. Nauka musi za tym nadążyć.
Czytałam tę książkę długo, bo smakowałam poszczególne rozdziały. To ciekawa propozycja dla tych, którzy trochę się psychologią interesują, bo porządkuje wiedzę, robiąc to w sposób przystępny i naprawdę interesujący.
December 22, 2024
In this captivating and insightful exploration of psychology’s long history, Hayes covers the whole ground in under 300 pages. Here is brief description of some of the historical movements which she explores:
Philosophy of Mind and Darwinism (1500s-1800s)
Hayes begins her investigation into the roots of psychology by exploring the emergence of empirical inquiry as a way of thinking about the mind during the 16th-18th centuries by Descartes, Hobbs, Locke, and Hume. The nexus of these philosophers is the empirical concept that experience is the key to understanding knowledge and that measuring experience is the way to advance understanding about how people think. Darwin’s investigation into the development of animal species in his five year voyage around the Galapagos islands was the first major empirical case study that carried implications for understanding the human mind. His theory of natural selection inspired the idea that psychological characteristics are inherited and passed down through generations of human evolution.
Psychoanalysis (1890s)
In the late 1800s, Freud laid the groundwork for the birth of psychoanalysis, which is a theory of the psyche and therapeutic method. The central idea of psychoanalysis is that the human mind resembles an iceberg: the visible represents the conscious mind and the vast part below symbolizes the unconscious. The method is uniting conscious and unconscious content through free association (the process of voicing thoughts spontaneously, without each expression necessarily being connected to the next). While Freud theorized that the unconscious was purely driven by sexual instincts (the libido), Carl Jung said that there was a further layer of collective unconscious underneath the individual unconscious. Jung’s evidence for this was his theory of archetypes: a series of universal symbols which express universal psychic content shared by everyone. Meanwhile, Alfred Adler (my favorite psychoanalyst), who suffered from rickets as a child, departed from both by focusing on the psychology of compensation, coining the term “the inferiority complex,” and exploring the methods individuals mentally overcome physiological and psychological impairments.
Nativist Psychology (1910s)
Drawing on the work of Charles Darwin, Henry Goddard and Francis Galton developed the theory of nativist psychology, suggesting that intelligence among other desirable psychological characteristics are inherited through natural selection. This theory later led to eugenics and the justification of the holocaust.
Behaviorism (1890s, 1930s)
Ivan Pavlov challenged nativism with the theory of stimulus-response learning in the 1910s. The behavioralists argued that, in order for psychology to remain empirical and scientific, it must be explained through behavior since behavior is the only observable phenomena related to the human mind. The general consensus among early behaviorists was that the mind is simply an amalgamation of stimulus-response connections learned through conditioning.
In the 1930s, B.F. Skinner advances behaviorism with the introduction of his theory of operant conditioning: controlling responsiveness to stimuli using rewards and consequences. During this time, he spoke strongly against punishment as a form of manipulating behavior on the basis that consequences mitigate the wrong actions, but don’t encourage positive behavior. Positive behavior arises out of reinforcing positive actions via rewards. On the other hand, Noam Chomsky challenged Skinner’s theory with his own of generative grammar, suggesting that humans carry an innate capacity for language that sensitizes them to innate grammatical structures. This clash between behaviorist and nativist explanations for development amplified the age-old nature/nurture debate in psychology.
The Gestalt School (1930s)
The Germans, notably Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, and Wolfgang Kohler challenged behaviorism by founding a new school of thought called Gestalt psychology. Wertheimer, Koffka, and their followers argued that cognition begins with a general idea (Gestalt) and perception is the process of integrating external stimuli into preexisting general ideas. In Kohler’s words, “neither human nor animal psychology comes from a collection of elemental ‘bits.’ Psychology is about whole experiences, most of which can’t be explained as a combination of their constituent parts.” A common example used to reject the premise that experience is a collection of sensory impressions is a musical tune. A tune can be entirely transposed into a different key, but people will still recognize it as the same tune even though each key is a distinct stimulus. Koffa and Werheimer suggested that the brain doesn’t just receive sensory information, it interprets that information subjectively which is why different people respond distinctly from the same stimuli or respond similarly to distinct stimuli.
Humanistic Psychology (1950s)
Similarly to Adler’s approach, rather than focusing on remedying negative behaviors, Maslow thought that psychology should focus on positive “human” qualities like hope, happiness, love, and health. As the father of the humanist movement, Maslow theorized that humans carry an innate goodness. This belief led him to develop his famous “hierarchy of needs” model in an effort to map the path to maximum human fulfillment (“self-actualization”). The five stages of needs include: (1) physiological needs (food, water, warmth, rest), (2) safety needs (safety, security), (3) belongingness and love needs (intimate relationships, friendship, and family), (4) esteem needs (prestige and self-confidence) and (5) self-actualization (achieving one’s full potential). At the core of Maslow’s view was the idea that people live in a uniquely human context. We don’t just respond to environmental demands. We make choices and we have relationships with others. Our choices carry intentions and our relations with others forms a significant part of our consciousness. In Maslow’s view, by attempting to break psychology into a network of subcomponents, behaviourists reduce humanity to something that is disconnected from the “whole” experiences that define day-to-day living.
Challenging the Psychiatric Orthodoxy (1960s)
In the 1960s, Thomas Szasz’s The Myth of Mental Illness ignited an anti-psychiatry movement. Szasz argues that if a mental disease is physiological or neurological, then it should be diagnosed as a physical illness. If the disease is not physical, then it should not be labeled as an illness at all as it is simply just a “problem with living.” By labeling a psychological problem as an illness, doctors redirect the responsibility of care from the patient into their own hands, implying that the problem is not something that can be addressed by the patient.
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM), patients qualify for some mental illness diagnoses if they meet a series of social conditions (e.g. poor work performance, not getting along with friends, etc). Szasz contends that the problem with this methodology for diagnosis is that it is inherently subjective. An individual’s self-perception of social disconnectedness might be completely different from another. Furthermore, the quantity of such social conditions that qualify for diagnosis is governed by the discretion of each psychiatrist, creating another layer of subjectivity that further undermines the reliability and consistency of mental illness diagnoses. This subjectivity, Szasz argues, blurs the line between genuine medical conditions and socially constructed problems, calling into question the legitimacy of psychiatry as a science. Szasz’s solution is to abandon the DSM and start addressing social problems with social solutions, rather than using medicinal methods to treat something inherently
Social Psychology (1960s-1970s)
Emerging from the humanist and behaviorist traditions, social psychology placed humanity and developmental learning in the context of group identity. Relationships between multiple individuals created group memberships, leading to a sense of identity that was fundamentally social. In the process of relating to others, social learning followed, and empirical research confirmed this theory by finding that children who interact with other children are more likely to be socially skilled and emotionally balanced than those who are isolated.
Modern Psychology – Daniel Kahneman Systems Thinking and Neuroplasticity (2000s+)
Daniel Kahneman’s systems thinking theory divides cognitive psychology into two types of thinking: slow and fast. While slow thinking is characterized by thoughtful, deliberative, reflective, and logical reasoning, fast thinking involves automatic, instinctual, and simple decision-making. Kahneman says that we use heuristics, or mental shortcuts, to take action (e.g taking a path of least resistance) and these heuristics are created by narrowing our choices.
A taxi driver study in New York City by Katherine Woodlett compared hippocampus size between new drivers and veterans and discovered that size is proportional to driving experience. Brain scanning has confirmed this finding, suggesting that the brain has a neuroplastic structure. This discovery has largely revolutionized 20th century understandings of psychology by showing that humans are adaptable and engaging in certain experiences can literally change the size of your brain.
Philosophy of Mind and Darwinism (1500s-1800s)
Hayes begins her investigation into the roots of psychology by exploring the emergence of empirical inquiry as a way of thinking about the mind during the 16th-18th centuries by Descartes, Hobbs, Locke, and Hume. The nexus of these philosophers is the empirical concept that experience is the key to understanding knowledge and that measuring experience is the way to advance understanding about how people think. Darwin’s investigation into the development of animal species in his five year voyage around the Galapagos islands was the first major empirical case study that carried implications for understanding the human mind. His theory of natural selection inspired the idea that psychological characteristics are inherited and passed down through generations of human evolution.
Psychoanalysis (1890s)
In the late 1800s, Freud laid the groundwork for the birth of psychoanalysis, which is a theory of the psyche and therapeutic method. The central idea of psychoanalysis is that the human mind resembles an iceberg: the visible represents the conscious mind and the vast part below symbolizes the unconscious. The method is uniting conscious and unconscious content through free association (the process of voicing thoughts spontaneously, without each expression necessarily being connected to the next). While Freud theorized that the unconscious was purely driven by sexual instincts (the libido), Carl Jung said that there was a further layer of collective unconscious underneath the individual unconscious. Jung’s evidence for this was his theory of archetypes: a series of universal symbols which express universal psychic content shared by everyone. Meanwhile, Alfred Adler (my favorite psychoanalyst), who suffered from rickets as a child, departed from both by focusing on the psychology of compensation, coining the term “the inferiority complex,” and exploring the methods individuals mentally overcome physiological and psychological impairments.
Nativist Psychology (1910s)
Drawing on the work of Charles Darwin, Henry Goddard and Francis Galton developed the theory of nativist psychology, suggesting that intelligence among other desirable psychological characteristics are inherited through natural selection. This theory later led to eugenics and the justification of the holocaust.
Behaviorism (1890s, 1930s)
Ivan Pavlov challenged nativism with the theory of stimulus-response learning in the 1910s. The behavioralists argued that, in order for psychology to remain empirical and scientific, it must be explained through behavior since behavior is the only observable phenomena related to the human mind. The general consensus among early behaviorists was that the mind is simply an amalgamation of stimulus-response connections learned through conditioning.
In the 1930s, B.F. Skinner advances behaviorism with the introduction of his theory of operant conditioning: controlling responsiveness to stimuli using rewards and consequences. During this time, he spoke strongly against punishment as a form of manipulating behavior on the basis that consequences mitigate the wrong actions, but don’t encourage positive behavior. Positive behavior arises out of reinforcing positive actions via rewards. On the other hand, Noam Chomsky challenged Skinner’s theory with his own of generative grammar, suggesting that humans carry an innate capacity for language that sensitizes them to innate grammatical structures. This clash between behaviorist and nativist explanations for development amplified the age-old nature/nurture debate in psychology.
The Gestalt School (1930s)
The Germans, notably Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, and Wolfgang Kohler challenged behaviorism by founding a new school of thought called Gestalt psychology. Wertheimer, Koffka, and their followers argued that cognition begins with a general idea (Gestalt) and perception is the process of integrating external stimuli into preexisting general ideas. In Kohler’s words, “neither human nor animal psychology comes from a collection of elemental ‘bits.’ Psychology is about whole experiences, most of which can’t be explained as a combination of their constituent parts.” A common example used to reject the premise that experience is a collection of sensory impressions is a musical tune. A tune can be entirely transposed into a different key, but people will still recognize it as the same tune even though each key is a distinct stimulus. Koffa and Werheimer suggested that the brain doesn’t just receive sensory information, it interprets that information subjectively which is why different people respond distinctly from the same stimuli or respond similarly to distinct stimuli.
Humanistic Psychology (1950s)
Similarly to Adler’s approach, rather than focusing on remedying negative behaviors, Maslow thought that psychology should focus on positive “human” qualities like hope, happiness, love, and health. As the father of the humanist movement, Maslow theorized that humans carry an innate goodness. This belief led him to develop his famous “hierarchy of needs” model in an effort to map the path to maximum human fulfillment (“self-actualization”). The five stages of needs include: (1) physiological needs (food, water, warmth, rest), (2) safety needs (safety, security), (3) belongingness and love needs (intimate relationships, friendship, and family), (4) esteem needs (prestige and self-confidence) and (5) self-actualization (achieving one’s full potential). At the core of Maslow’s view was the idea that people live in a uniquely human context. We don’t just respond to environmental demands. We make choices and we have relationships with others. Our choices carry intentions and our relations with others forms a significant part of our consciousness. In Maslow’s view, by attempting to break psychology into a network of subcomponents, behaviourists reduce humanity to something that is disconnected from the “whole” experiences that define day-to-day living.
Challenging the Psychiatric Orthodoxy (1960s)
In the 1960s, Thomas Szasz’s The Myth of Mental Illness ignited an anti-psychiatry movement. Szasz argues that if a mental disease is physiological or neurological, then it should be diagnosed as a physical illness. If the disease is not physical, then it should not be labeled as an illness at all as it is simply just a “problem with living.” By labeling a psychological problem as an illness, doctors redirect the responsibility of care from the patient into their own hands, implying that the problem is not something that can be addressed by the patient.
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM), patients qualify for some mental illness diagnoses if they meet a series of social conditions (e.g. poor work performance, not getting along with friends, etc). Szasz contends that the problem with this methodology for diagnosis is that it is inherently subjective. An individual’s self-perception of social disconnectedness might be completely different from another. Furthermore, the quantity of such social conditions that qualify for diagnosis is governed by the discretion of each psychiatrist, creating another layer of subjectivity that further undermines the reliability and consistency of mental illness diagnoses. This subjectivity, Szasz argues, blurs the line between genuine medical conditions and socially constructed problems, calling into question the legitimacy of psychiatry as a science. Szasz’s solution is to abandon the DSM and start addressing social problems with social solutions, rather than using medicinal methods to treat something inherently
Social Psychology (1960s-1970s)
Emerging from the humanist and behaviorist traditions, social psychology placed humanity and developmental learning in the context of group identity. Relationships between multiple individuals created group memberships, leading to a sense of identity that was fundamentally social. In the process of relating to others, social learning followed, and empirical research confirmed this theory by finding that children who interact with other children are more likely to be socially skilled and emotionally balanced than those who are isolated.
Modern Psychology – Daniel Kahneman Systems Thinking and Neuroplasticity (2000s+)
Daniel Kahneman’s systems thinking theory divides cognitive psychology into two types of thinking: slow and fast. While slow thinking is characterized by thoughtful, deliberative, reflective, and logical reasoning, fast thinking involves automatic, instinctual, and simple decision-making. Kahneman says that we use heuristics, or mental shortcuts, to take action (e.g taking a path of least resistance) and these heuristics are created by narrowing our choices.
A taxi driver study in New York City by Katherine Woodlett compared hippocampus size between new drivers and veterans and discovered that size is proportional to driving experience. Brain scanning has confirmed this finding, suggesting that the brain has a neuroplastic structure. This discovery has largely revolutionized 20th century understandings of psychology by showing that humans are adaptable and engaging in certain experiences can literally change the size of your brain.
November 8, 2024
Pros:
-The text is effortless to read, and the pages flow smoothly.
-Many exciting experiments or surveys in a variety of different fields are described.
-Many critical thinkers are explained very well: Fraud, Jung, Fanon, Skinner, Chomsky, Kahneman etc.
Cons:
-She does not always provide the latest updates on topics; instead, she explains the events, which can feel strange.
-Goes outside mainstream psychology periodically(e.g. Critical psychology) but doesn't tell you about it.
-Some chapters(not many) leave you an incomplete image, like something needs to be added.
-No reference list or additional bibliography to look up at the end of each topic.
Forty chapters, each explains a breakthrough in psychology in less than 2000 words. They will be very interested and excited if you are new to this field. I will not recommend this book if you have already read a bunch of psychology books;
Nothing in-depth, but she has some well-explained important ideas. Still, it leaves you with a feeling that something is missing. Is that what I just learned valid today? Is there a more important fact that I should know? You are not sure if you learn historical facts or psychology.
If I had to rebuy the book, I would first do better research if something similar exists; if it didn't exist, I would still buy this book.
*I'm familiar with the literature in iq, and chapter 36 is not doing a good job of explaining both sides or giving a genuine update on the topic. The reader will be left with the wrong impression. That's my personal opinion, but I'm not an expert.
-The text is effortless to read, and the pages flow smoothly.
-Many exciting experiments or surveys in a variety of different fields are described.
-Many critical thinkers are explained very well: Fraud, Jung, Fanon, Skinner, Chomsky, Kahneman etc.
Cons:
-She does not always provide the latest updates on topics; instead, she explains the events, which can feel strange.
-Goes outside mainstream psychology periodically(e.g. Critical psychology) but doesn't tell you about it.
-Some chapters(not many) leave you an incomplete image, like something needs to be added.
-No reference list or additional bibliography to look up at the end of each topic.
Forty chapters, each explains a breakthrough in psychology in less than 2000 words. They will be very interested and excited if you are new to this field. I will not recommend this book if you have already read a bunch of psychology books;
Nothing in-depth, but she has some well-explained important ideas. Still, it leaves you with a feeling that something is missing. Is that what I just learned valid today? Is there a more important fact that I should know? You are not sure if you learn historical facts or psychology.
If I had to rebuy the book, I would first do better research if something similar exists; if it didn't exist, I would still buy this book.
*I'm familiar with the literature in iq, and chapter 36 is not doing a good job of explaining both sides or giving a genuine update on the topic. The reader will be left with the wrong impression. That's my personal opinion, but I'm not an expert.
April 22, 2024
~ A Little History of Psychology by Nicky Hays ~
Was delighted to go to the book launch a few days ago and hear Nicky describe in her own words this lovely little book which she was invited to write.
I loved every page and found many of the topics interesting! Apparently, it's a 2000-word limit per chapter, so it's very bite-sized per topic!
From the CIA secretly experimenting with LSD (and there was me thinking Men Who Stare at Goats was just a comedy) to more profound reflections that we are still learning about this enormous field 😊
I was also happy that social (industrial) psychology made an appearance, with some great reminders on thinking around group behaviour, culture, and identity.
l was grateful for the exploration of what we actually mean by "mental illness" and how we may indeed be misleading ourselves by calling certain "ways of living and experiencing" as being an "illness." More of that needed I think.
It's definitely worth a read, and it does make the complex topic of psychology accessible 📚
Was delighted to go to the book launch a few days ago and hear Nicky describe in her own words this lovely little book which she was invited to write.
I loved every page and found many of the topics interesting! Apparently, it's a 2000-word limit per chapter, so it's very bite-sized per topic!
From the CIA secretly experimenting with LSD (and there was me thinking Men Who Stare at Goats was just a comedy) to more profound reflections that we are still learning about this enormous field 😊
I was also happy that social (industrial) psychology made an appearance, with some great reminders on thinking around group behaviour, culture, and identity.
l was grateful for the exploration of what we actually mean by "mental illness" and how we may indeed be misleading ourselves by calling certain "ways of living and experiencing" as being an "illness." More of that needed I think.
It's definitely worth a read, and it does make the complex topic of psychology accessible 📚
July 5, 2025
"Krótka historia psychologii" to książka, która w skrócie przedstawia narodziny i rozwój psychologii.
To bardzo ciekawa i przystępna lektura, która przedstawia najważniejsze wydarzenie dla rozwoju tej nauki. Autorka omawia historię psychologii od starożytności, po czasy współczesne. Skupia się głównie na XIX i XX wieku.
Przeczytamy tutaj m.in. o natywiźmie, psychoanalizie, badaniach militarnych, o eksperymencie głodowym, eksperymentach CIA, neuropsychologii czy dekonstrukcjoniźmie. Oczywiście książka porusza tutaj również wiele innych tematów - to naprawdę historia w pigułce.
Poznamy głównych ojców tej dziedziny, ale również podejścia globalne.
Książkę czytało mi się bardzo dobrze i szybko. Część rzeczy wiedziałam, ale również bardzo dużo się dowiedziałam z tej lektury. Na pewno jest zaskakująca.
Jeśli interesuje Was psychologia i chcecie się nauczyć czegoś nowego, lub po prostu interesują Was ciekawe historie, ta książka jest dla Was. Polecam!
To bardzo ciekawa i przystępna lektura, która przedstawia najważniejsze wydarzenie dla rozwoju tej nauki. Autorka omawia historię psychologii od starożytności, po czasy współczesne. Skupia się głównie na XIX i XX wieku.
Przeczytamy tutaj m.in. o natywiźmie, psychoanalizie, badaniach militarnych, o eksperymencie głodowym, eksperymentach CIA, neuropsychologii czy dekonstrukcjoniźmie. Oczywiście książka porusza tutaj również wiele innych tematów - to naprawdę historia w pigułce.
Poznamy głównych ojców tej dziedziny, ale również podejścia globalne.
Książkę czytało mi się bardzo dobrze i szybko. Część rzeczy wiedziałam, ale również bardzo dużo się dowiedziałam z tej lektury. Na pewno jest zaskakująca.
Jeśli interesuje Was psychologia i chcecie się nauczyć czegoś nowego, lub po prostu interesują Was ciekawe historie, ta książka jest dla Was. Polecam!
October 17, 2024
Psychology is a big and complex field. It has roots in ancient Greece and Rome, but was only founded officially in 1879. It has struggled to define itself as a science and a helping profession. Its history is messy - filled with interesting stories, some shameful claims, and some impressive advances in understanding. Could an author tame it and tell its story in less than 300 pages?
That is what Nicky Hayes has done in this book. Her writing is lively and (because I am using it as a text) I know students find it engaging. They like the concise chapters, the connections made between ideas from different sources and times, the author's light touch, and the reinterpretations of several familiar narratives, such as the story of Phineas Gage.
This is a book with intellectual, academic, and entertainment value. Bravo.
That is what Nicky Hayes has done in this book. Her writing is lively and (because I am using it as a text) I know students find it engaging. They like the concise chapters, the connections made between ideas from different sources and times, the author's light touch, and the reinterpretations of several familiar narratives, such as the story of Phineas Gage.
This is a book with intellectual, academic, and entertainment value. Bravo.
July 31, 2025
Lähdin lukemaan tätä kirjaa epäilevällä asenteella, koska psykologian historian tiivistäminen pieneen pokkariin tuntui lähes mahdottomalta haasteelta. Yllättäen Nicky Haeys onnistuu tässä hyvin, tästä sai hyvän käsityksen tärkeimmistä kehityskuluista. Tekstissä todellakin keskityttiin olennaiseen. Tosin 1970-luvun jälkeen teksti ei kuvaa psykologiaa niin hyvin, monia olennaisia asioita jää pois, mutta tämä on ymmärretävää, koska psykologinen tutkimus laajenee tuossa vaiheessa niin paljon, että oikeastaan pitää puhua psykologioista. Esimerkiksi havaintopsykologiasta monet olennaiset tutkimuspolut jäävät mainitsematta ja aivokuvantamistutkimus kuitataan seitsemällä sivulla. Kirjan vahvuus on siis varhaisemman psykologian historian kuvaamainen. Kirjassa on myös hyviä tarinoita ja esimerkkejä, jotka tekevät siitä kiinnostavaa luettavaa.
September 8, 2024
The book made me realise how little I knew about psychology. It talks about the early attempts to explore man's psychology till present time. Still, there are some issues with this book:
1- There is so much information in it which makes it not enough to read it once.
2- Unlike the little history of the world, the storytelling was a bit dry. Since the title is similar, I was hoping to have the same tone and narration style.
Still, it is an important reference book to know where to go in psychology if you want to explore it.
1- There is so much information in it which makes it not enough to read it once.
2- Unlike the little history of the world, the storytelling was a bit dry. Since the title is similar, I was hoping to have the same tone and narration style.
Still, it is an important reference book to know where to go in psychology if you want to explore it.
October 28, 2025
Загалом книга точно відповідає статусу "науково-популярної". Читати легко, зрозуміло і не виснажливо, якщо читати малими частинами, по 2-3 розділи, бо можна вхопити передоз, що зі мною і сталось.
Розділи про використання цієї науки як інструменту катувань або про психологію нацизму/фашизму дещо вибиваються із загальноописових розділів, тому дуже важкі морально.
Остання чверть так детально пояснює запитання, скарги і нарікання, що виникли у мене в процесі читання, що аж "в голові розвиднілось")))
Розділи про використання цієї науки як інструменту катувань або про психологію нацизму/фашизму дещо вибиваються із загальноописових розділів, тому дуже важкі морально.
Остання чверть так детально пояснює запитання, скарги і нарікання, що виникли у мене в процесі читання, що аж "в голові розвиднілось")))
November 11, 2025
đưa ra quá trình hình thành và phát triển của Tâm lý học, trải nghiệm đọc bình thường. bản dịch tiếng Việt của NXB Nhã Nam dịch đôi chỗ khó hiểu.
sách là giản lược quá trình, nhưng khả năng phù hợp với ai có kiến thức về ngành tâm lý học rồi. điểm tên nhiều công trình nghiên cứu về tâm lý học, có trích dẫn nhiều học giả và công trình của họ nhưng k đưa ra thông tin về học giả đó.
đôi phần còn hơi rườm rà trong cách diễn đạt (có thể là do bản dịch tiếng Việt)
một số chú thích của bản Việt khó hiểu, nhiều từ chuyên ngành ko được chú thích.
sách là giản lược quá trình, nhưng khả năng phù hợp với ai có kiến thức về ngành tâm lý học rồi. điểm tên nhiều công trình nghiên cứu về tâm lý học, có trích dẫn nhiều học giả và công trình của họ nhưng k đưa ra thông tin về học giả đó.
đôi phần còn hơi rườm rà trong cách diễn đạt (có thể là do bản dịch tiếng Việt)
một số chú thích của bản Việt khó hiểu, nhiều từ chuyên ngành ko được chú thích.
December 3, 2025
It is what it says in the title. It's a bit unfair to criticize a book that's trying to be a summary by saying it leaves out some stuff--that's what a summary is, after all--but I did have to dock it one star because some of the topics, in particular non-Western psychology philosophies and practices, come across as afterthoughts. If this were titled "A Little History of Western Psychology," I'd have given it 5 stars.
July 27, 2024
I really enjoyed the simplicity of this book taking the reader through a short history of how psychology came to be as it is today. It includes critique and explanation of the key theories that continue to influence psychological research. Highly recommend as a light read for other psychologists or as an introduction to anyone interested in history, psychology or social impacts of research.
January 27, 2025
Unclear to me who the target audience for this book is. I don’t think this would be the most exciting introduction to the subject for someone who knows nothing about psychology. I also don’t think it would benefit anyone who has taken any reasonable intro to psychology class, as most of the content would already be covered.
To be fair, this book delivers exactly what it promises in the title.
To be fair, this book delivers exactly what it promises in the title.
September 5, 2024
Quite a nice summary of psychology's history, although missed out a few topics - e.g, third wave therapies - and psychologists, e.g, Meichenbaum.
November 14, 2024
Would give 3.5 but half stars are for cowards. Contrary to popular belief, I don’t actually enjoy reading about all types of Psychology. However, it was well written and interesting in places.
Read
April 30, 2025I enjoyed this! A quick read for my psychology capstone class, provided a nice overview of a history of psychology.
July 2, 2025
Faktycznie krótka historii psychologii, jednak świetnie pokazuje jej historię i to jak wiele teorii, nurtów i odkryć, a przede wszystkim ludzi ją kreuje
August 27, 2025
Good introduction to the history of psychology. I was surprised to learn about the underemphasis of positive psychology for most of the fields development.
September 18, 2025
A fantastic overview of the history of psychology, with especially insightful sections on Seligman’s work on optimism and Bandura’s research on self-efficacy.
November 17, 2025
nice, informative, and easy to understand
October 8, 2025
Definitely feel a little smarter. Was interesting but much more like reading a textbook, and i probably forgot half of what I read
July 1, 2025
uhm I didn’t realise I have been reading it since summer last year??
well applaud me, I finally finished it and it was good but not five stars
I liked that the author wrote about non-mainstream psychology too, which was REALLY interesting, but I thought that what was explained in each chapter was always a bit chaotic and after reading a chapter you had an overview of the topic but also not really.
I found that a lot of basic concepts in each chapter fell short for the sake of mentioning other more complex theories, leaving you with a fraction of what I personally would have considered interesting and important for that chapter
Nonetheless this book was still interesting and the drawings at the beginning of each chapter provided a great introduction for the following topic.
also the last few chapters imo were chefs kiss, especially chapter 39 “nodes, networks and neuroplasticity”,
this chapter was well explained and provided a really good overview especially of such a complex and ever-evolving topic.
maybe I’m biased though because my favourite study got mentioned (maguire et al., 2000) and i really really like neuropsychology so yay I was very excited🦈🦈🦈
ps: I can’t tell how it is to read this with zero knowledge of the topics beforehand, but over the course of these apparently 9 months it took me to finish this book (what the frick actually why), it became a lot easier to read once we learned about the topics in uni, so as a total beginner this may be a bit exhausting to read, but also maybe not, who am I to decide this?
idk so the end tada (sharkies!!🦈🦈)
well applaud me, I finally finished it and it was good but not five stars
I liked that the author wrote about non-mainstream psychology too, which was REALLY interesting, but I thought that what was explained in each chapter was always a bit chaotic and after reading a chapter you had an overview of the topic but also not really.
I found that a lot of basic concepts in each chapter fell short for the sake of mentioning other more complex theories, leaving you with a fraction of what I personally would have considered interesting and important for that chapter
Nonetheless this book was still interesting and the drawings at the beginning of each chapter provided a great introduction for the following topic.
also the last few chapters imo were chefs kiss, especially chapter 39 “nodes, networks and neuroplasticity”,
this chapter was well explained and provided a really good overview especially of such a complex and ever-evolving topic.
maybe I’m biased though because my favourite study got mentioned (maguire et al., 2000) and i really really like neuropsychology so yay I was very excited🦈🦈🦈
ps: I can’t tell how it is to read this with zero knowledge of the topics beforehand, but over the course of these apparently 9 months it took me to finish this book (what the frick actually why), it became a lot easier to read once we learned about the topics in uni, so as a total beginner this may be a bit exhausting to read, but also maybe not, who am I to decide this?
idk so the end tada (sharkies!!🦈🦈)
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